Stone Age

American  

noun

1. the period in the history of humankind, preceding the Bronze Age and the Iron Age, and marked by the use of stone implements and weapons: subdivided into the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic periods.

---

Stone Age British  

noun

1. a period in human culture identified by the use of stone implements and usually divided into the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic stages

---

1. (sometimes not capitals) of or relating to this period

   stone-age man

Stone Age Scientific  

1. The earliest known period of human culture, marked by the use of stone tools.

2. See Mesolithic Neolithic Paleolithic See Note at Three Age system

---

Stone Age Cultural  

1. A period encompassing all of human history, perhaps several million years, before the Bronze Age. In the Stone Age, people learned to make and use stone tools and weapons.

---

Etymology

Origin of Stone Age

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

Across the country, their fighters have joined private looters in stripping museums of valuable artifacts chronicling the country’s history from the Stone Age to the rise of Islam.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

"Why is no-one standing up to him? He's really taking us back to the Stone Age."

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026

He observes that “geology is the beginning of technology,” which explains our use of phrases such as the Stone Age and the Bronze Age and, in the future, he believes, our current Sand Age.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 25, 2026

Ajvide is one of Scandinavia's most significant Stone Age archaeological sites, known for its well-preserved graves and abundant artifacts.

From Science Daily • Feb. 19, 2026

For example, Stone Age farmers did not proceed directly to extracting and working iron, which requires high-temperature furnaces.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond